How to move koi to new home

[Bossman]

In the next few months I will be moving and subsequently I have to move my koi. Here is the information you need to know. The koi are all 6 to 8 inches, the move will require two full days. Catch and pack fish in AM on day one and acclimate and place in new pond PM the second day. I know not to feed for 48 hours prior to move. I would like to how many containers I will need, how many fish per container, how large in gallons each container should be. I really want to be sure my fish arrive in the best possible condition. What else will I need and what else should I know.

 

[Tula]

I've never had to move my koi, but have seen it down especially preparing koi to travel to koi shows. At that she I'm sure you could put more than one in a bag. You'll need to pack them with O2, , double bag them and place in a box or cooler to support the bag. I've also read to not place the box / cooler, length wise ( head to tail ) in the vehicle.

I'm sure others with some experience will chime in.

 

[GBBUDD]

A couple questions how many 6 to 8" koi and what manner of transport do you have a vw bug a truck a denali?
My first choice would be a flexable square temp pond. Quantity of 2 battery operated air pumps, hose and air stone Per container. If theres going to be a lot of fish then maybe even those cheap cotton and activated carbon filters that run by air. Just remember water is 8 pounds per gallon
and I would not bag at all. 24 hours is the max even the japanese go for transporting and they yes pump air and some even medicate THE KOI in the shipping bags. i would also bring some water from the pond as emergency if something should happen.

 

[Joejoe80]

it’s really not that big a deal. Your main problem is the size of your fish. They need big containers.
As said above no bags.
I would use Rubbermaid totes. Those big like 40g rectangle at Home Depot or lows. a small power converter. A air pump, and a couple of air stones. Or battery powered pump like said above.
As far as how many per tote. Depends on how long there in there. I would say no more then 3

As for feeding.
do not feed!! 24-48 hours prior to transport. This will ensure that most if not all poop will be out of their systems. therefore they should not poop and dirty up the water.
Other then that get them in the new habitat within 24 hours

I’ve never done koi but I have moved many fish tanks. Big and small. Fresh and salt.
Salt water reef tanks are by far the worst to move.
I’ve moved reef tanks with 300+lbs of live rock. You have to keep everything alive rock and sand included.

 

[Joejoe80]

OK there were other replies no there aren’t they disappeared. So I just re-post mine.

it’s really not that big a deal. Your main problem is the size of your fish. They need big containers.
As said above no bags.
I would use Rubbermaid totes. Those big like 40g rectangle at Home Depot or lows. a small power converter. A air pump, and a couple of air stones. Or battery powered pump like said above.
As far as how many per tote. Depends on how long there in there. I would say no more then 3

As for feeding.
do not feed!! 24-48 hours prior to transport. This will ensure that most if not all poop will be out of their systems. therefore they should not poop and dirty up the water.
Other then that get them in the new habitat within 24 hours

I’ve never done koi but I have moved many fish tanks. Big and small. Fresh and salt.
Salt water reef tanks are by far the worst to move.
I’ve moved reef tanks with 300+lbs of live rock. You have to keep everything alive rock and sand included.

 

[GBBUDD]

Be careful with your temps if they are going from a cold pond to a 70 degree car that can be a quick temp change that could stress them out. I would also add start right to the water it helps fish when stress is inevitable it's mostly aloe and some other beneficial additives

 

[Jhn]

Agree with the above posts, just will add that you could add some type of filter to the pond, then when you move pull out the filter material and use it in some type of submersible filter in the containers or even just putting it in the containers. The bacteria in the filter media will Aid in keeping ammonia from building up. I do this with Qt tanks for new fish, keeps from needing to or at least minimizes cycling the tank.

Lastly, I would be careful on the acclimation and not take too long with it. Fish that are transported for long periods (24 hrs) especially in bags where CO2 can build up which depress ph lowering the toxicity of ammonia, when you start acclimating and slowly adding water, the ph will rise as the built up CO2 is off gassed, making ammonia more toxic at a higher ph.

When I acclimate new fish that are ordered online, I pretty much temperature acclimate them for 10-15 minutes then just release them. Idea being it is less stressful for them to osmoregulate themselves in the clean water of the new tank/pond as opposed to the water full of their waste. Have done it this way as well when I have had to move various species of fish including koi.

 

[sissy]

I have transported fish from abandoned ponds for realtors and found the biggest problem was acclimation to new water .I used my truck with one of those big tanks with window screen ontop of them and since I have outlets in my truck a aerator was easy .How far do you have to travel with them .Also buy zeolite and mesh bags to put it in as it cuts down on the ammonia that will happen when fish are stressed .Also do not feed for at least a week before .Try before the move to take as much of the water out of the original pond as you can and put it into the new pond and always transport them in the original pond water .They have oxygen tabs you can put in the water also .Not sure you can buy them anymore .I used to get them from dr foster and smith but have not ever seen them any place else .Also go slow with your flashers on because just stopping and going can slosh the water around.

 

[GBBUDD]

Sissy brought up a good point When transporting fish it is best to have the fish laying across the car and not in the direction of travel . reason being they can get hurt there mouths are no made to deal with impacts and they can also hurt there spines. placing diverters of some sort in a larger vat is recommended. they don't need to be able to swim they just need enough water to breath. Smaller fish are not as much of a concern

 

[MIKES KOI]

how far is the trip ?? how long in min/hours? one thing will help, even if you dont feed for 48 hours as soon as you net them they will release poop...net to bat , then place in new water that ready before you move them to container. you will notice poop in the first bat.. you want ammonia free water in container. but they still release ammonia through gills ,vent. a binder will help if its a long trip. no filters is needed, but a air supply is recommended. like posted above DON'T OVER CROWD.